Running-gear for vehicles.



W. CORCORAN. kRUWHNG GEAR FOB VEHICLESl l APPLICATION FILED AUG. I. Isls.

Patented NOV., 2l, 1916.

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W. CORCOAN.

RUNNING GEAR FOR VEHICLES.

APFLxcAUoN man Aus. 1. 1,916.

Patented Non 21, 1916.

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ELUBBTNEMGGEAR EUR VEHICLES.

Speclcaton of Letters Patent.

Application nled August l, i918.

To all whom t may (fo/)112cm lie it known that L l'llinmaat Uonconan., a citizen of the United titates, residing at ldortlainh in the county of ll/lultnomah and State of Gingen., have invented non' and use-lul linprovements in Running-Gear for Vehicles of which the followingl is aspeciication.

This invention relates to motor driven and other vehicles of the six-Wheel type in which the front and rear sets of Wheels are simultaneously operated for steering purposes., and the objects in view are to provide vehicle of the class specified having easy steering1 control7 means for advantageously distributing1 the Weight on all the Wheels and elfecting an easy vriding; movement of the vehicle or car relatively to road obstructions and depressions through the medium of novel front and rear equalizer organizations and by liinginggr the running gear on the intermediate or central driving` axle and at the'saine time maintain a practical adherence of the Wheels of the latter axle relatively to the road surface.

'lllie running gear of the improved vehicle is prevented from having the least sideivise motion, being held rigid to obviate such motion. Each Wheel of the improved vehicle is free. to drop into adepression or liolloiv space in a roadway or to pass over an elevation in the roadway Without affect ing the easy and comfortable riding movement of the vehicle as much as in a four- Wlieel vehicle, such advantage in favor of the improved vehicle being,r due to the action of the equalizer organizations disposed in advance and in rear of the central driv ing' axle and Wheels and operating to absorb and transmit shocks a greater vdistance rearwardly. rl`he front portion of the frame of the body of the vehicle or car rests at the center with relation to the front equalizer organization so that a greater variation of control relatively to the rear Wheels may be had, and the rear portion of the said frame will rest at tivo points relatively to the rear equalizer organization and by this arrangement the vehicle or car Will be controlled principally by the four Wheels in rear of the front pair of Wheels. ln other words, the load has a three-point bearing or suspension relatively to the running gear.

ln the accompanying drawings one prao tical illustration of the invention is shown, the body of the vehicle as Well as the driv- ,plane of the line Fig. 2.

Patented Nov. 2l., ltlltl..

Scria1No.1lK,579.

ina' mechanism beine; omitted, it being intended to nse any forni of drivingI mechanism ivell as steering means, the invention relating` more particularly to the runnino; Iaear having the advantages hei-einbe- `fore specilied.

inV the drawings: Figure Lis a top plan view of the running gear and frame of the vehicle body embodying the features of the invention. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal vertical section of the running fear and vehicle body as shown by Fig l. Fig. El is a transverse vertical section taken in the l llfig. Ll is a transverse vertical section taken in the plane of the line 4l, Fig. :2, with the adjacent intermediate wheels and axle omitted. Fig. 5 is a detail cross-section through one of the axles and the spring` extremity and taken in the plane of the line 5-5, Fig. l. Fig. is a section taken in the plane of the line ll-6, l? 5, and in a direction parallel with the axle., a part of the latter being shown in elevation.

The numeral 5 designates a body frame or chassis mounted over anv intermediate drive axle G and front and rear axles l' and Sl., these axles 6, 'l' and El being equipped with Wheels 9 of any approved type. rlhe front and rear pairs of ivheels 9 are svv'iveled, as at l0, so that they may be operated for steerinaj purposes, and as hereinbetore specilied suitable steering gear will be connected to .these wheels for simultaneously shifting;r the same so as to effect an advantageous steering operation. The Wheels 9 of the center axle 6 Will constitute the drive Wheels of the entire vehicle,l it being proposed to' use any Well known mechanism for operating these Wheels and connecting up such mechanism to a motor and shaft adapted for the' purpose. The axles 6, 7 and 8 are suitably stayed or reinforced by braces ll which converge to central peints relatively to the front and rear axles 7 and 8 and engage the central or intermediate axle t3 Without in the least interfering with the functions of these axles. By means of these braces the running gear structure as a Whole Will be materially strengthened.

The most essential features of the invention consist of front and rear equalizer organizations l2 and 13 between which and the axles 6, 7 and 8 spring units ll, 15, 16 and 17 are mounted, the spring* units being vduplicated at opposite sides of the running gear. Each en ualizer organization comv prises oppositeA side bars 18 connected by a cross-bar 19, which in the equalizer organization 12 is located in advance of the centers of the two side bars 18. A bolster 20 is interposed between the front -portion of the frame or chassis 5 and the cross-bar 19, said bolster having a single rest point or movable connection 21 relatively to the cross-bar, said connection being at the center of the latter' bar, as clearly shown by Fig. 8. De-

pending from the opposite ends of the side bars 18 are clips 22 and 28 which form the supports for the intermediate port-ions of the spring units 16 and 14 respectively, and the rear ends of the spring units 16 and the front ends of the spring units 14 are movably connected to depending links 21 and 25 also movably connected at their upper ends to the side bars 18. The rear equalizer organization 18 is structurally similar in all respects to the front equalizer 12, and between the side bai-S26 of the said rear equal- ,izer organization and the frame or chassis 5 a bolster 27 is interposed and is attached at two points, as at 28, to a cross-bar 29 connecting the side bars 26. The cross-bar 29 in the equalizer organization 18 is located in rear of the centers of the side bars 26, and from the foregoing it will be seen that the frame or chassis 5 which supports the Ybody of the vehicle or car is connected at a single point at its forward extremity to the front equalizer organization 12 and at two points at its rear extremity to the rear equalizer organization 18. Depending from the opposite ends of the side bars 26 are clips 8() and 81 which form the supports for the intermediate portions of the spring units 15 and 17 respectively, and the rear ends of the spring units 15 are movably attached to depending links 82 secured at their upper ends to the side bars 26, and the front ends of the spring units 17 are secured to the lower ends of links 88 also depending from the side bars 26. The rear ends of the spring units 1l and the front ends of the spring units 15 are secured to ears or analogous devices 84 carried by the drive axle 6, and the front ends of' the spring units 16 and the rear ends of the spring units 17 are respectively movably associated with the front and rear axles 7 and 8. All of the spring units 11, 15, 16 and 17 are free to move vertically or to perform their usual spring functions, the links 24, 25, 82 and 88 yielding to the expansion of the said spring units through the medium of load weight on the chassis 5 and during irregular movement of the running gear in passing over elevations or obstructions in a roadway or through' depressions in the latter, the spring units all compensating as to expansion and contraction to these several conditions of travel and thus render the riding movement of the vehicle or car very easy. The easy riding movement of the car is also augmented and very eec tively assisted by the equalizer organizations specified and which absorb all shocks or jars due to the wheels 9 suddenly meeting obstructionsor traveling through depressions.

The front extremities of the spring units 16 and the rear extremities of the spring units 17 are so associated with their respective axles 7 and 8 that the said axles may rise and fall in conformity with irregularities of the roadway without in the least twisting or distorting the said spring units, and each -axlenis formed with a curved or semicircular seat 85 onopposite lsides of the center so that each axle has two seats of similar form located near the opposite extremities thereof. rllhese seats 85 are formed by pressing or forging the axles 7 and 8 adjacent to the opposite ends thereof in adownward direction, the metal being forced i into segmental or radius .projections 85 at the lower edges of the said axles. riihefront extremities of the spring units 16 and the rear extremities of the spring units 17 have clips 86 attached thereto, said clips embody# ing rear walls 87 and front walls 88 of equal length, semicircular bearing bosses or enlargements 89 being secured to the top plates 86u of the 'clips between the said walls to loosely fit in the seats 85, the walls 87 and 88 closely embracing the rear and front sides of the axles 7 and 8, as clearlyshown by Fig. 5. The bosses or enlargements 89 are secured to the top walls 86a of the clips 86 by bolts 89a which project through and abovel the said walls 86av and also through flattened ends 89b of the spring units 16 and 17. The rear and front walls 87 and 88 of the clips 86 are also continued downwardly below theaxles and their lower ends are formed with openings 88a in which bolts or bolt rods 40 are mounted and' have rollers 40a thereon, said rollers bearing against and adapted to ride on the segmental or radius projections 85a when theaxles and spring' units relatively move. The ends of each pair of bolts or bolt rods 40 are engaged by the bifurcated ends of a rod 41, as shown par ticularly by Fig. 6, to hold the spring units 16 and 17 relatively to their respective axles 7 and 8 in a harmonious association and vto effect a unified operation thereof relatively to the movements of the axles 7 and 8. 1t will therefore be seen that the spring units in all instances will have but one movementrelatively to the several axles, this movement being vertical, and both the spring units 16 and 17 and the axles 7 and 8 are held rigid by the particular association of the extremi ties of the Said units with the axles, and these spring units as well as the units 14 and 15 will be prevented from having the least sidewise movement and the spring units will as a consequence resist injury by sudden Elli all

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Lacasse shocks or jars that might otherwise be irregularly unposed thereon. Moreover, the front bolster 2() by its single movable conneetion relatively to the bar 19 is permitted to have a sidewise tipping action until its ends strike the side bars 1S of the front equalizer l2, but s-aid bolster has no other movement, and, moreover, the equalizer organization l2 may move vertically at opposite sides with a resilient action through the medium of the spring units connected thereto and the two side bars 1S may have a rocking movement in view of the fact that they are mounted or connected in such manner relatively to the cross-bar 19 as to permit such movement in accordance with the elevation and depression ot' the front axle 'T and itsv wheels E). The rear 'axle S has its movements taken up and absorbed through the rear equalizer organization 13, but the rear bolster 27 cannot move or tip sidewise on the bar 29 owing to the two points of attachment 2S of the said bolster. The side bars 2G of the rear equalizer' organization 13 may rock on the ends of the bar 29 or move vertically, but not sidewise. It will therefore be seen that either of the front wheels running over uneven roadways disturbs the body of the vehicle or car very little because the fro-nt end of the load sets on a center which receives shocks and vibrations through spring units and equalizing means, and the shocks-or vibrations that may come through the wheels 9 of the intermediate drivin'g'axle G-are likewise taken up by the spring units and equalizers, and the irregular movements of the four front wheels are disturbed and absorbed with the result that the front end of the vehicle or car has only a vertical motion. Moreover, the forward four wheels are'in full control of the vehicle or car for tipping motion at all times, for the reason that the load is'to a greater extent disposed rearwardly through the medium of the two points of rest provided by the bolster 27 in its two points of attachment .to the bar 29, and the greater part of the loadis thereby carried by the rear axle S and the wheels 9 of the latter. Moreover, the load in accordance with the improved structure hereinbefore described always has a good Yfoundation or base because none of the wheels ever lea vesl its position in relation to the base or foundation of the load. The load is also brought close to the ground and through the arrangement ot springs and eqnalizers hereinbefore described can be distributeduniformly on each-l wheel, though it is preferred that a little more weight be arranged on the center! wheels for insuring effective driving of the machine through these wheels;

IIT hat is claimed is:

l. In running gear for vehicles, the combination of front and rear and intermediate axles having wheels thereon, the wheels of the front and rear axles being mounted for steering purposes and the intermediate axle constituting the driving means of the running gear, and spring units and equalizers interposed between the intermediate axle and the front and rear axles, the equalizers being independent organizations and respectively connected tothe spring units between the intern'iediate and front and rear wheels. i

2. In running gear for vehicles, the combination of front and rear axles both carrying steering wheels, an intermediate driving axle having wheels thereon, front and rear equalizer organizations, spring units between the opposite extremities of the equalizer organizations and the front and rear and intermediate axles, and a frame for supporting the body having one'v point of connection with the front equalizer organization and two points or' connection with the rear equalizer organization.V

3. In ruiming gear for vehicles, the combination of front and rear and intermediate axles, the intermediate axle operating as the driving means for the running gear and the front and rear axles carrying steering wheels, and a frame for supporting the body having a single point of attachment at its 4trontextremity relatively to the running gear and two points of attachment at its rear extremity relatively to the said gear.

l. The combination with running gear for vehicles including axles and spring units, of a frame for supporting a body having asingle point of rest at its front extremity relatively to aportion of the running gear and two points of rest at its rear extremity relatively to said gear and Wholly clear of the axles and spring units.

5. In running gear for vehicles, front and rear axles carrying steering wheels and an intermediate driving axle carrying wheels, spring units having terminals associated with all of the axles, and equalizer organizations having side bars'with means at their ends for supporting the spring units and also provided with other means to which the adjacent ends of the spring units are attached.

6. In running gear for vehicles, front,

rear and intermediate axles carrying wheels,

spring units having terminals with which the liront and rear axles movably engage,

equalizer organizations in advance and in rear of the intermediate axle and to which the opposite terminals of the said spring units are connected, ,and other spring units connected to the intermediate axle and also to adjacent portions ot the equalizer organizations.

7. In running gear for vehicles, front and rear axles carrying steering wheels and an intermediate drive axle also carrying wheels,

llltl front and rear equalizer organizations having lcross-bars respectively in advance and in rear of the centers of the said organizations7 spring units interposed between the equalizer organizations andthe axles7 bolsters mounted on the cross-bars of the equalizer organizations, the front bolster having a single point of attachment to its cross-bar and the rear bolster having two points of attachment to its cross-bar, and a frame for supporting a body mounted on the said b'olsters.

l S. In running gear for vehicles, the oom- .bination of front and rear axles having steering wheels and an intermediate driving axle having wheels thereon, front and rear equalizer organizations, spring units introduced between the front side portions of the front equalizer organization and the rear extremities of the side portions of the rear equalizer organization and the front and rear axles respectively, the latter axles having curved seats and the extremities of the spring units engaging the same provided with curved bosses to engage the said seats, and depending hangers connected by rods for unifying the terminals of the saidv WILLIAM CORGORAN.

Witnesses W. J. JErFiiRrEs, TOM F. COWING. 

